If you want to see corruption, look at the party leaders’ response to the scandal

GaryO

When all parties are equally punishable, whom do the voters choose? The worst-case scenario is surely when, to punish Labour, people vote Tory, who will then immediately misconstrue our tactical voting as a vote of confidence in David Cameron leaving him feeling vindicated, smug and worse, virtuous – whereas, in the voters mind, nothing could be further from the truth.

David Cameron has chosen to shout at others in the hope that nobody will look at him, and the ruse is working!

Helena Mikas

How right you are ...Business as usual . Sack em all and whilst we are at it off with their heads ! Not much in them save for self centredness. By the way the twaddle we keep reading about grand gestures to repay . Photos shots of cheques held up ...Spare us please .Cheques can be stopped and I for one don't believe a word.Repayment could only be seen to be real when don ethrough an independant audit.Oh yes and whilst doing that lets see a retrun of the famous luxury good .Could go to Oxfam shops .

A. MacAulay

Politics is the "art of the possible", so if its possible they'll make an art of it.

Michael

This is your best article for some time - and it needs to be seized upon by the commentariat at large to scrutinise Dave Cameron more closely. His response to this debacle has been very Blair '94-'97 vintage, urgent, passionate, pro-active, telegenic, indignant. But when you look at it closely, really pretty vacuous. Res, non verba - a period of deeds not words from our political class would serve us all very well.

john Walter

Yes Rod, Birt was the worst ever and I am glad you've nailed him in public. All of us at the Beeb suffered under Birtism even after he had left for blue skies thinking at Downing Street, because the Birt babes he promoted were carbon copies of him.

Bill Corr

Cameron rewards and punishes. Blessed be his name!

Ben Wallace, the Tory MP for Lancaster, is obviously destined for permanent political obscurity and exclusion from office.

Rightly so!

The bounder published all his accounts long before it even became a requirement!

tim

Your best for some time Mr Liddle. How timely. I wonder if the odious Mr Parnell resigned after reading this valediction on him?

David Short

Purnell just forgot to join the right party. He is a Tory who thinks people should 'work' for their unemployment benefit, despite many of them having made forced national insurance contributions to pay for the benefit that is much reduced by having to be paid to those who have never contributed.

He is another public schoolboy pol who doesn't know about the average struggle, but is happy to exempt himself from paying CGT and to benefit from the public purse.

paul gilboy

I got to agree with you rod. Cameron showed a distinct lack of character trying to save this julie person. He should have remembered the old maxim when in politics if you want a friend buy a dog!

Jeremy

"He is a public school-educated monkey..."

My own term for a member of this species is "a public school pretend-proletarian".

Mrs.Josephine Hyde-Hartley

It seems to me that, for all the claims made by people in Parliament to be taking deeply moral action, the pattern of retribution shows how employment concerns arising from old-fashioned fees/expenses arrangements and ways of working lead to some being treated less favourably than others. This will change very soon hopefully and the whole work/life balance of M.P's and others will be so carefully regulated as to be virtually bulletproof / foolproof.

james

"He is a public school-educated monkey."

... but this is surely better than the emptyheaded left-wing bully boys who intimidate people by, for example, shouting 'fascist' whenever anybody complains about immigration, or 'sexist' whenever they moan about feminism.

Further, emptyheaded left-wing bully boys we have by the million -public school monkeys only by the thousand.

Marcus

Quite right Julie Kirkbride has the support of the man in the street, however her husband(with wrong advice) took on his party and lost. I saw the PM Questions by the press with Gordon swearing honesty and openness to the main media. He did not like being challenged by The Spectator journalist who told him about the 2.7% cut across all Governement departments. He dissmissed it and the reporter. However i can say that the biggest Governement Department is HMRC and they are two years in to a year on year reduction of 5% over 3 years.Where are the front line services going to come from their " Work Force Change" They have no money left and our services fall apart. We need more front line services through UKBA and Customer Operations. The PCS Union is a stumbling block who are too politically motivated as they want to do all things to all left leadingmen. Your reporter was right to challenge and shout down for his second question as i can testify to the wasted Pre Surplus staff who have a disappearing job without the money or inclination to give them redundacy.

Perhaps you need a freedom of information question either to Leslie Strathie or Mike Clasper.

Alistair Pugh, UAE

Spot on, Rod!! Have you thought about doing a little piece on the odious Keith Vaz?

Nick Chambers

My main worry about this scandal, is that nothing will change. Even if our useless police force, oops sorry! service even investigates anyone; I think we all know what the result will be. God knows what it must be like in the European parliament? How have we let these things happen for so long? Doesn't anyone investigate things anymore? Anyhoo, it took the heat off the bankers for a while: was that the idea?

Oliver Cromwell

If the MP's cannot be honest then we have to dicipline them all, sacking the lot, cancell all pensions and emoluments for all who cannot verify 100% of their claims to the exchequer with NO EXCEPTIONS, and prosecuting them guilty like the common criminals they are.Then let us start again with NO solicitors/teachers or anyone eligible to stand, who has ever lived on public money for 12 months or more. The working class are more honorable than these thieves,vagabonds and liars and would make better MP's at looking after England, who have been caught with their fingers in the till